Mellor on financial board

Northwest Colorado public schools will have a voice on a state advisory committee this year.

Dale Mellor, director of operations and finance for the Steamboat Springs School District, has been appointed to the Colorado Department of Education's Financial Policies and Procedures Advisory Committee. The committee, as authorized by state law, is responsible for advising the state and its 178 school districts on all matters related to school financial management.

Mellor, the district's finance director for five years, was elected by the committee in June to fill a vacancy for the 22-member group. Mellor's four-year term expires in August 2008.

Mellor said he sent the committee a letter of interest after hearing of the vacancy. His interest in serving on the committee stems from a desire to be more involved in state decisions that have wide-ranging impacts on school districts.

"I wanted to have some say in some of the things that go on in school finance," Mellor said. "And I wanted to represent the rural districts, especially those in Northwest Colorado."

Among the committee's scope of work is advising school districts, CDE and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services on budget development, financial record keeping and financial data presentation. Every year the committee is responsible for compiling the Financial Policies and Procedures Handbook, a resource the state requires all school districts to use.

As a member of the committee, Mellor is responsible for attending meetings across the state.

Mellor, who recently was given additional job responsibilities and a new title by the school district, previously worked as Routt County's accounting manager for seven years.